Month: August 2017

One of the more frustrating flaws I must contend with is my social shortcomings. In a single title you could describe me as an unwilling hermit, lacking the necessary skills to enter any conversation smoothly, to strike up any meeting, to catch another person’s eye without the slightest risk of cowering in the nearest cupboard…

I have been known to treat a history lesson like an afternoon in the cinema; I compulsively munch on snacks at the back, nod when I’m satisfied and laugh far louder than the people around me. It’s partly for this that I looked forward to lessons, and like good jokes, there were certain stories I…

If you were to list the things that you were proud of in life, your crowning achievements, the height of your brilliance, how would you fare? I imagine you would not be too unlike me or most others and realise with self-demoralising effect, that they number less than your own fingers. People like to judge…

I love a good story with compelling characters, a complex and unpredictable plot, maybe a weird twist. Sometimes with a little drama, some sex and violence, a side helping of heroism. And you’d be hard pressed to find better stories than in a history lesson. History has it all, or at least, so far. You…